Our journey started on Friday evening, where we all gathered at various points around the G.P.O in Dublin City Centre. Everybody was scattered around the building, almost like pieces of a jigsaw scattered on the floor. Little did we know, this jigsaw would soon be assembled and would present itself in the form of a beautiful picture. We eventually introduced ourselves to one another when Alan King, our NAYD Leader and Young Critics coordinator showed up to meet us.
From there, we got a bus to the Marino Institute of Education where we would be staying for the two nights. Mirjana and Diane were our welfare leaders for the weekend. They were both extremely nice and we all got along with them.
We had our first workshop on Friday evening when we arrived at Marino Institute. We were all slightly “train and bus-lagged” but we got through it nevertheless. It was Alan who gave us the workshop, he did some warm-up exercises with us and that got us all energized and ready for action. Alan then divided us into groups and we discussed important questions like, “What does a critic do?” and “What is the job of a critic?” The workshop was really fun and enjoyable. It was the perfect start to the weekend.
Marino was a really nice place to stay. We would be sharing our bedrooms with one other person. I was sharing with Aaron from Co. Roscommon Youth Theatre. There was also a common room with couches and a television where we had the opportunity to socialize and get to know everybody better.
The next day, we had an early start (8am if I recall.) After breakfast we had our second workshop of the weekend. This time, we were introduced to Dr. Karen Fricker who is a professional theatre critic and a drama lecturer at Royal Holloway. Karen was really cool. She had loads of experience and knowledge regarding criticism. We looked at some background information in connection with Alice In Funderland and Tea Chests and Dreams. We discussed openly in small groups what we were expecting from the performances that we were going to see that day. We looked at images from both productions, the cast list and their backgrounds, production teams, venues, etc.

Following the workshop, we had a quick bite to eat and then we journeyed on the bus, which brought us directly to the Abbey theatre in Dublin’s city centre to see Alice in Funderland. It was absolutely fantastic. Philip McMahon produced something very fresh, vibrant and engaging. Not one dull moment throughout. I recommend anybody to go see it; it’s well worth it. The souvenir programmes were also fantastic. I personally collect programmes from all the shows I go to and this one was really superb. It was my first visit to the Abbey Theatre venue and it will be indeed one that will last with me a lifetime. I found it really warm and inviting. Overall, an outstanding production in a lovely venue.
After the performance of Alice In Funderland, we took a bus out to Ballymun in Dublin where we would see an evening performance of Dermot Bolger’s play Tea Chests and Dreams - A Night of First Nights in The Axis Arts Centre of Ballymun. We were served dinner in the Axis before the performance, it was delicious and we were all really well looked after. The Axis, for me, was a bright, open and airy space with a very laid-back and relaxed kind of ambiance. The Axis provides a wide range of services like Theatre, Arts classes, Crèche, etc. so therefore I was very excited about the prospect of visiting it. Our group found the play very good overall but we felt some aspects of the show were a little lacking in spots. Bolger’s script was magnificent which made it a joy to watch. In a nutshell, a really nice production in an excellent venue which had some flaws but they may be forgiven due to the strength of the rest of the production.

A very tired bunch at this stage, we returned to our beds in Marino Institute that night after what was a very exciting and action-packed day. The two productions we had seen that day left a really lasting impact on us and it was really good to have the chance to mull things over, in a manner of speaking, overnight.
On Sunday, we arose bright and early for another workshop, again facilitated by Alan and Karen. It was excellent as always. We were divided into smaller groups and we engaged in discussions and debates about the productions we had seen the day before. It was really interesting to hear everybody’s opinions and reactions to the performances. Some people highlighted things others didn’t see and vice versa. We then had a questions and answers session with Karen in which a group of representatives from the different groups shared their mixed views and opinions.
We then got our final bus of the weekend into the city centre and parted ways. Knowing that we had learnt and shared things over the weekend that we mightn’t have got the opportunity to do, had we not been there, was a small consolation to the sad moment when we realized we wouldn’t be seeing each other for another three months.
We had seen two amazing pieces of theatre, engaged in lively discussions and debates, made new friends and had the craic all weekend and that is what I think sums up our weekend at NAYD Young Critics 2012.

Thank you so much NAYD for a fantastic weekend that we will truly never forget.

Luke

Find out more about Young Critics

Along with the other members of NAYD staff we were joined by over twenty other drama workers from across the county.

The first session was with Stephen Moynihan and Sarah Duffy from the Irish Wheelchair Association.

The day started with a nice icebreaking exercise where we were all given a lemon and asked to give them personalities and names. We then had to put them into a big pile in the middle of the room and then asked to find them again. It was a fun way of seeing that just because people may appear the same we all have our own personalities and traits. We continued with another exercise where as small groups we all had to experience a disability while trying to complete a child’s jigsaw puzzle. I personally find some of these types of exercises can be a little corny at times but I found this one really useful. It is always good to stand in someone else’s shoes for a small while. It is an exercise I will definitely be stealing and using myself down the line. Watch this space.

The most useful part of the morning was actually chatting about disability. I sometimes get hung up on language that it is hard to know what to say. We try to be so politically correct that we fear we will say the wrong thing. So we end up saying nothing, and nothing is ever dealt with. The use of language can be so incendiary at times that it can very much get in the way of practicalities.

We finished off by watching a very funny clip from the C4 sitcom the I.T. Crowd. It showed how our attitudes to disability could be taken to the extreme with embarrassing outcomes. It was a lighthearted way to end the morning.

Dr. Carmel O Sullivan addressed the group in the afternoon on Drama in Education and Autistic Spectrum Disorders.
She gave us a brief history of autism and Asperger Syndrome and brought us up to speed with current thinking and developments. Again it was very useful to know that not everyone with autism can be labeled as being the same. There are different traits and characteristics to every individual.

She is currently engaged in long-term research at the School of Education in Trinity College in which she has been working with a number of young people with Autistic Spectrum Disorders over a number of years through drama. She spoke to us about her work with these teenagers with autism and how that work through drama has thrown up some interesting and radical outcomes.

She told us what drama activities could work best and what types of activities to avoid. By using long form story and process drama exercises she can engage these young people in problem solving and notions of empathy. How we as facilitators can use our voice, facial expressions and body language will have a huge bearing on how these young people will engage with us through drama. Exaggeration and theatricality really does a difference in communication with people with Autistic Spectrum Disorders.
This work can be slow, as you really need to build relationships over a long period of time before progress can be made.

What I gained from this is that drama really could make a real difference to these young people. These young people’s engagement in drama activities is flying in the face of previously held misconceptions of how young people with autism could engage with the world around them.

I found Carmel riveting. She was such a good communicator and her theatrical style of delivery along with her humorous and passionate approach ensured I paid full attention.

The biggest issue we face as facilitators is not being fully informed as to people’s needs. Very often parents can either be in denial or feel it is not necessary for a drama worker to know of a young person’s condition. In fact the young people may not be aware themselves and this can prove difficult for everyone.
I feel that if we are best able to serve the needs of that young person and the needs of all the members of a group it is imperative that we are informed. Once you know about something you are better able to deal with it and have agreeable outcomes for all.

Again the main thing that I took away from this session is that I can keep doing what I am doing as a facilitator. It can be ok to exclude someone from a group if you feel it is detrimental to the rest of the group or to the young person themselves, especially if they are being so disruptive that it becomes impractical for everyone. I will still get some things right and I will still make mistakes sometimes. It’s not the end of the world if I do.

I honestly feel I have a greater awareness of working with people with disabilities and those on the Autistic Spectrum and I would be more confident is solving problems as they arise in sessions.

To find out more about the work of the Irish Wheelchair Association visit their website.

The results of Carmel O’Sullivan’s research will be available soon. We will provide details on how to access them at the time. In the meantime visit the Aspire website to find out more about Carmel’s work.

Alan King

April 4, 2012

I was both nervous and excited when I arrived bright and early on a Monday morning for the first day of our Drama training. My physical body was awake enough to actually get me there, but my creative mind was still hitting the “snooze” button so to speak. Having been a participant in a youth theatre in my teens and loving every minute of it, now at age thirty one, I was worried I would find it difficult to be open and expressive in front of a group of strangers. It had been a long time since I had been asked to “perform” in front of any kind of audience and even though we were all in the same boat, it was hard not to be anxious about feeling foolish or self-conscious. I looked around a circle of pale and nervous faces, and even though our fear was evident, so too was our comittment and determination, as we threw ourselves into the warm-up games and activities Colin set before us.

The most memorable of these initial exercises, was when we were asked to represent in a pose how we were feeling at that moment, at the beginning of the workshop. We were allowed to keep our eyes shut to save any embarrassment or uncomfortable feelings. This, we learned, meant the activity was a “low focus” excercise, as no one in particular was the focus of the group, we weren’t aware of each others’ poses. I personally adopted a very closed position, my body contorted in an anxious knot with my hands held to my mouth as if I were gnawing on my fingernails with stress. Colin then led us through various other low to medium focus exercises that followed smoothly from one to the next, each time with a slight increment in the amount of concentration and improvisation required. After some time, you could really feel the energy we had created in the room. The once pale faces were now flushed with the warm pinkish colours of healthy exercise and it was obvious that the group were becoming more relaxed with one another, as we laughed and joked amongst ourselves in between drama exercises. Finally that morning, Colin asked us to repeat the initial experiment of closing our eyes and striking a pose to represent how we felt now. The position I now adopted couldn’t have been more different than the previous one. My arms were stretched out in an expression of freedom, energy and joy, and when we were allowed to then open our eyes I saw that mostly everyone else had adopted similar open poses. Within a few hours we had broken down many barriers within ourselves and it was an exhilarating and empowering experience to feel somehow changed for the better.

It was this exercise that prompted me to really consider the Psychology of a drama workshop for the first time. I was noticing that even though every game we played had a “fun factor”, there was a hidden learning/development exercise within, that was either helping us to build our confidence, increase our focus, or develop our imaginations. As a youth worker, I find that a lot of our young people from disadvantaged backgrounds have severe difficulty in using their imaginations, so this was something I had a particular interest in learning how to develop in others.

Overall, as an introduction to the world of drama again, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I learned a lot about introducing drama to a group, and how best to include everyone in the activities in a supportive non-intimidating manner. It really reminded me, how drama is an amazing tool for getting to know people very well in a short amount of time. I felt extremely nostalgic for the friends and wonderful people I had met through drama the first time around. I’m convinced that it would highly benefit the young people I work with everyday, to participate regularly in an activity where they can form the kind of lasting friendships that help to create your own individuality and self belief now and later on in life. Drama offers a platform for freedom of expression and personal development in a way that can really benefit young people who are struggling to find their place in society. I am looking forward to the future training workshops, in particular the ones where we will be learning how to use drama as a tool to discuss important social issues with a group of adolescent teens.

I have always known drama was enjoyable both as a participant, and a spectator. Now I am learning that it can also be extremely fun as a Drama Facilitator, and I look forward to the challenges and benefits that this new journey will bring.

Ciara Duffin

My first day at the NAYD community drama training was fast paced and fabulous. Coming from a drama background, I worried that it would be a lot of sitting around discussing the theories of working through drama with young people. It was nothing like that, we were on our feet from the word go, doing all the exercises that we would be using ourselves as a drama facilitator. Once you have experienced the exercises with a group of people you don’t know, you know exactly how your group will be feeling when they start. It was a brilliant way to learn what would work best for your group.
I left exhausted but really looking forward to day two.

The second day at the NAYD community drama training was again a fantastic day. It flew by. We went through some more workshops and could experience first hand the bonding that takes place quickly within a group when it is well facilitated. We were all starting to build up trust within the group. Colin had very clear tables of what took place in each workshop and what the expected result would be.
We were also provided with a document listing all the exercises, which was important as I couldn’t remember half of them.
The only downside was I have to wait another month till my next session, I can’t wait!

Caroline Rothwell

Find out more about the Community Drama Training Programme.

Since starting as Youth Theatre Officer, almost two years ago now, one of the mainstays of my work has been helping and guiding people with their artistic planning and strategy.

Through our ongoing discussions with groups in development and even with our long established members we have found that long term planning is one of the most challenging areas of youth theatre activity.

For many new and developing groups, so much energy and preparation goes into setting up the youth theatre through such tasks as forming committees, drawing up child protection policies, recruitment, that the one area that can take a back seat is the actual artistic activity.

Once a group has been set up and the first few introductory workshops of getting to know each other and simple improvisation have been explored, where do you go from here? We often plan from week to week with no regard for what happens in week 16 or years two and three.

What is long term planning? Well it’s the ability to plan way into the future, maybe as far as five years. It gives you achievable goals and an interesting and rewarding artistic programme to try with your group.

There is no hard and fast approach to planning your year, and as there are many different types of youth theatres, with different development needs, resources and members, no two youth theatres are ever alike.

It is for that reason that there is no ‘standard youth theatre syllabus’. NAYD has never developed one, nor to we feel it is appropriate to do so. What is appropriate and vital is to develop a programme that reflects your own needs and your desire to engage your members with interesting and challenging work. It is also vital that the group is encouraged to develop artistically, personally and socially and over time develop their own style and take some risks with the artistic programme.

If you were to do the same thing every year, boredom would soon set in and it is unlikely the youth theatre would survive.

We have recently developed a sample three-year artistic plan for youth theatres. It is not absolute or foolproof, but a well thought-out guide that can at the very least form a starting point for your own artistic plans.

It is a three-year cycle with separate terms in each year, programming workshops, with scope for productions. It also addresses the needs for social and fundraising activities for all members and their wider community to take part in and enjoy.

The resource comes in two parts.

The first part is a series of three easy to follow diagrams for each year in the plan. They are clearly laid out month by month. They list a series of artistic and strategic approaches for that time of year. For each year in the cycle the progress and development for the group is very clear.

The second part is a very comprehensive document that lists each activity with a further expansion and explanation as to the logic behind such activities.

Together they form a good guide to help you with your planning.

The three-year plan allows for development and trying new things while putting a strong weekly workshop at the very core of activities. It can be used for a group about to start for their very first year or can be applied to any group at any stage. It works off the rhythm of the academic year and if this doesn’t suit you please use it to coincide with the time-frame that best suits your group.

As I said it is not an absolute but merely a guide and a starting point. We hope that it helps and inspires you to plan effectively for your youth theatre!

Alan

View the 3 year Sample Artistic Plan

Martin Lucey travelled up from Cork for the weekend and had this to say about the weekend.

This two–day intensive workshop-based training could not have come at a better time for me and my group at CDYS in Mallow, Co Cork. I had been volunteering with the Youth Service for a while and due to my background as an actor on stage and screen I wanted to introduce the kids to drama. But how????????

With these kids you only get one chance but I knew from experience that drama would be invaluable. The confidence building alone is worth the effort. But how????????

After all the experience I have it should be no trouble at all. Wrong.
Facilitating drama workshops has little to do with having an acting or theatre background, in fact you don’t need any experience but a willingness to plan, take some risks and a desire to improve the kids social and personal skills in a fun way.

Be there for nine thirty to start at ten we were told. We were and we did. I had decided to throw myself into the workshops, as I know how awkward and silly one can feel, especially in front of total strangers.
After about 10 to 15 minutes of warm-up exercises I was totally focussed on the 1st workshop, which turned out to be Getting to Know You. There wasn’t a second to lose as the two facilitators; Alan King and Colin Thornton, kept us on our toes both physically and mentally. Our Circle was a nice link between the various exercises and really did feel like Our Circle. (We form a circle alphabetically…really!) At tea break we chatted as if we knew each other all our lives.

Back promptly; no time to waste for the second workshop, Teamwork.
Following on from the introductory workshop we were now focussing on team exercises. This was perfect as we now were comfortable with each other and made working or playing together very enjoyable. This was all very low focus work and gave everybody a chance to get more and more at ease within the group.

After we all ate lunch together we returned for workshop 3: Taking Safe Risks With Drama. It does exactly what it says on the tin. After a morning where it was the same people (me included) volunteering, Alan and Colin invited others to do the same and it worked. Now there was a bit of competition to get a place on one of the performing exercises. The Rules of Improv exercise led us to a fantastic finale when there were hilarious results from the Sit, Stand and Kneel game.

We wound down the first day with exercises that didn’t require a lot of physical movement but did need some concentration. The title of this workshop was Containment on Chairs.

When day 2 started the following morning, we were all mixed up. Deliberately. After leading us in a warm-up, Alan and Colin then suggested the exercises. We were all over the place; first we were in a circle, then in pairs, then back to a circle, then in groups of four, then groups of three, then a circle.
We then looked at the way that particular group of exercises should be done. It was a great lesson.

For the last workshop Making it Your Own we had a go at delivering an exercise to the whole group and adding bits to the game. The feedback was uniform in that it looks easier than it is and you really have to plan if you are to give drama workshops.

The skills learned here are invaluable if you want to introduce drama techniques in a Youth Theatre, Youth Club or other settings. By using these drama exercises you can enhance the lives of the participants.
It’s not all about putting on plays and performing but also plays an important part in the social and personal development of all young people taking part.

All in all this was a fantastic experience and I cannot wait for more of it.

My sincere thanks to Colin and Alan and to the other participants for making this trip to the West very worthwhile. And it was free!

Martin

Starting out from our little home, the Garage Theatre at eleven on a Saturday morning, to travel to Dublin and perform in the Lir Academy Theatre for fellow members of the NAYD, was one lie-in I didn’t mind giving up! After our quick once-over rehearsal, making sure it was perfect, we hopped on the bus, carrying two extra drama members that couldn’t pass up the opportunity to be there with us. After enduring a half-hour of our wonderful singing on the bus, Barry and Krista decided we should use our time a little more wisely. We began practicing projecting our voices over the loud noises of the bus, while saying our lines. After three verbal run-through’s and a quick stop-off at an Applegreen (we love us some Apple!), we arrived at the theatre.

We took some photos outside and then waited around in the theatre, getting the feel of the stage. After the other two youth groups arrived and had set up their stage, we all took our seats. During the other two fantastic performances, we were shown how simple it can be to create comedy, and how good the young members of our group can be. Even though we already know our junior members are amazing! We got up to perform our own ‘trailer’, (with butterflies in our stomachs!), and, if I do say so myself, it was pretty good! Meeting the playwright and getting told that we brightened her day was probably the highlight of the day. She was so nice and praising of our performance, best compliments to get after a play! On the way home we celebrated our performances, with lots of singing, junkfood and yes another stop at Applegreen! The day itself was an amazing experience and was made even better by the fact I got to do it with my best friends. Learning from other drama groups and the NAYD itself, was fantastic and I’m glad that the Monaghan Youth Theatre was chosen to take part. For us the members, as well as our mentors Krista and Barry. I love drama and thank you NAYD!

Eimear Deery

The day started off with a quick rehearsal and then we were all squished onto a bus and set off to Dublin. Again we ran through lines  on the bus but as soon as we had finished we relaxed and sang at the top of our lungs.
When we arrived we were led into a black box theatre. This was the first time I had ever seen let alone performed in one. The first play It Only Ever Happens in the Movies  was instantly my favourite. I enjoyed the concept of sixteen year old Derek seeking love. The ideas that his friends come up with are not the best bits of advice. The chat up lines were brilliant.
In Quest of A Play was the second play which also had a genius concept of a play about making a play. The sounds created by the cast really put us into the jungle along with the twins.

Finally we were up. I felt relaxed performing the play but I was slightly nervous because I had never used a black box theatre. Our play went well and I was shocked to hear that the writer Ursula De Brun was there but was overwhelmed when she told us how much she enjoyed it.

Overall I enjoyed the entire day and would like to thank NAYD for organizing the great day out.

Josh Mc Phillips

Find out more about New Stage. 

Forum Theatre is a form of interactive theatre developed by the late Brazilian Theatre director, Augusto Boal as part of his Theatre of the Oppressed. In Forum Theatre, an audience is shown a short play in which a central character encounters an oppression or obstacle they are unable to overcome. When the play has been performed members of the audience can take to the stage and replace the character, acting out alternative paths and decisions. The aim is not to discover the ideal solution but to encourage the audience to analyse the situation and to try out strategies for countering oppression. The format encourages a positive and thoughtful approach to social problems through debate and theatrical interaction.

I first encountered Forum Theatre through participation in workshops over ten years ago and found it a fascinating and very worthwhile concept. Over the years I have been lucky enough to meet and workshop with some of the leading figures in the movement including Augusto Boal and Adrian Jackson. As I discovered more about the material and techniques used in Forum, I also found it to be a wealth of workshop material that can be applied to all types of drama and theatre exploration. I began facilitating Forum workshops to Artstrain in 2002 and the training has remained a part of the programme ever since. This year we were given the opportunity to expand on this training and to deliver some of the material to a number of youth theatres as part of a project in conjunction with the Equality Authority of Ireland. The Forum Theatre training was delivered to the Artstrain group and they were then supported in designing their own workshops and drama pieces within a Forum Theatre framework. They delivered these workshops to each other as part of a peer process before writing them up and then identifying youth theatre groups to deliver them to. The workshops were then delivered over a series of weeks to a number of youth theatres.

As part of the project the Introducing Forum Theatre:Workshop Resource Pack has been created. It is hoped that this will be a valuable resource for drama practitioners and youth theatre leaders who wish to explore and deliver Forum Theatre but also as a source of material for all types of workshops. The Resource Pack is now available for download from the Resources section of the website.

John

The evening Roadshows will involve a free, open pubic Q&A session in venues in Waterford, Belfast, Longford, Dublin, Cork and Limerick. Hosted by The Lir’s Director, Loughlin Deegan, and Academic Director, Brian Singleton, the sessions will give a unique insight for budding actors into the important factors to consider when going for an audition, and will provide information on the courses offered by The Lir. This will include information on The Lir’s newest course, a two-year Professional Diploma in Technical Theatre and Stage Management, which will commence in September 2012.

There will also be further advice and training available for aspiring actors at Audition Masterclasses- with full day workshops held the weekend after each public Q&A, and extended four-day Masterclasses in The Lir Academy in December and January.

The application process is now open for both the Bachelor in Acting (Hons) degree and the two-year Professional Diploma in Technical Theatre and Stage Management, and application forms can be downloaded from www.thelir.ie.

Below are dates for The Lir’s Q&A’s and Workshops. NAYD will also be running an audition technique workshop in February 2012 for affiliated youth theatre members looking at further training opportunities. Our Youth Theatre Officer, Alan King, put together guidelines for auditioning, which can be downloaded here: http://www.nayd.ie/resources/show/advice_centre.

REGIONAL TOUR LISTINGS

Waterford (presented in partnership with Waterford Youth Arts)

• Public Q&A, 16th November, 7-9pm, Waterford Youth Arts, The Arch, The Barracks, Barrack St, Waterford, Phone: 051-879377, Fee: Free.
• Full Day Audition Workshop with David Horan, 19th November, 10am-5pm, Garter Lane Arts Centre, O’Connell St, Waterford, Booking: 01-8962559 or info@thelir.ie, Fee: €60.

Belfast (in partnership with The Lyric Theatre, Belfast)

• Public Q&A, 23rd November, 6-8pm, Lyric Theatre, 55 Ridgeway St, Belfast BT9 5FB, Phone: 048-9038-5685, Fee: Free.
• Full Day Audition Workshop with David Horan, 27th November, 10am-5pm, Lyric Theatre, 55 Ridgeway St, Belfast BT9 5FB, Booking: 01-8962559 or info@thelir.ie, Fee: £55.

Longford (in partnership with Backstage Theatre, Longford)

• Public Q&A, 30th November, 6-8pm, Backstage Theatre, Farneyhoogan, Longford, Phone: 043-3347888, Fee: Free.
• Full Day Audition Workshop with David Horan, 3rd December, 10am-5pm, Backstage Theatre, Farneyhoogan, Longford, Booking: 01-8962559 or info@thelir.ie, Fee: €60.

Dublin

• Public Q&A, 3rd December, 2-4pm, The Lir, Grand Canal Quay/Pearse St, Dublin 2, Phone: 01-8962559, Fee: Free.
• Full Day Audition Workshop with David Horan, 4th December, 10am-5pm, The Lir, Grand Canal Quay/Pearse St, Dublin 2, Booking: 01-8962559 or info@thelir.ie, Fee: €60.

Cork (in partnership with Graffiti Theatre Company)

• Public Q&A, 7th December, 6-8pm, Graffiti Theatre, Assumption Road, Blackpool, Cork City, Phone: 021-4397111, Fee: Free.
• Full Day Workshop with David Horan, 10th December, 10am-5pm, Graffiti Theatre, Assumption Road, Blackpool, Cork City, Booking: 01-8962559 or info@thelir.ie, Fee: €60.

Limerick (in partnership with CentreStage Theatre School and Limerick Youth Theatre)

• Public Q&A, 14th December, 6-8pm, CentreSpace Studio, St Alphonsus St, Limerick City, Phone: 061-311100, Fee: Free.
• Full Day Audition Workshop with David Horan, 17th December, 10am-5pm, Limerick Youth Theatre, 73 O’Connell St, Limerick, Booking: 01-8962559 or info@thelir.ie, Fee: €60.

Four Day Masterclass - Auditioning

• Course 1: 10th-18th December 2011, 10.30pm-5.30pm.
• Course 2: 3rd-6th January 2012, 10.30am-5.30pm.

These courses will take place at The Lir, Grand Canal Quay/Pearse St, Dublin 2, Booking: 01-8962559 or info@thelir.ie, Fee: €350.

Our short film, NAYD Better Together, relives the highlights of our National Festival of Youth Theatres in Kilkenny back in July. For those of you that were there it should bring back some fond memories.

We would urge all our youth theatres, members past and present, family, friends and anyone you may know to look at our video. We feel that the video excellently and truthfully captures the magic of NAYD and its members and the great times we had in Kilkenny this year.

Ultimately we want you to watch, vote and spread the word about the campaign. We want this video to go viral and get as many views as we can. With your help we can make this possible and show the wider public how great youth theatre is and how young people who get involved can have such a special time.

How can you help?

•  Please watch the video and vote for it where it says VOTE FOR THIS (you can ‘Like’ it as well, but the votes are what counts!)
•  Post it on your Facebook or other social networking pages
•  Retweet it on Twitter
•  Include it in your signatures on your emails.
•  Send it to influential people in your community: funders, politicians, policy makers
•  Leaders can pass it onto youth theatre members and encourage them to repeat the above steps.

This video can benefit all of us involved in youth theatre and maybe give some of you some inspiration to make your own Better Together video. You can watch our video here.

I would love some feedback from you as well and to hear your responses to the video.

Thanks!
Alan

Originally from Thurles in Co. Tipperary, Michelle Carew comes to NAYD with ten years of experience in the cultural sector in the areas of youth theatre, film production and cultural festivals. Most recently she was manager and producer of Kinsale Arts Week, and her film credits include production roles on five feature films including Ken Loach’s the The Wind That Shakes the Barley.  Michelle’s involvement with theatre and young people stretches back to the early 2000’s where she spent her early career in youth drama facilitation firstly at the Haymarket Theatre in Basingstoke, England before moving to Cork to work with Boomerang Theatre Company. At Boomerang she worked on local, cross-border and international projects as a youth theatre facilitator and project manager and delivered the company’s education programme to schools, youth groups and Boomerang Youth Theatre. Her most recent work with young people was as tour manager for the Irish and European tour of ‘FML’ - a co-production between Cork Midsummer Festival and CAMPO Theatre, Gent with a cast and crew of 18 young people. Michelle holds a BA in Devised Performance from the University of Leeds and an MA in Cultural Policy and Arts Management from University College Dublin and her primary research interest has been on the topic of European cultural funding and the performing arts.

Michelle comments on her new post: “Joining NAYD in such challenging times is a welcome prospect for me. At a time when members are working hard to maintain the quality and consistency of their offer to young people in the face of tighter resources, NAYD provides unity for the sector. Together we are better placed to make the case for the value of youth theatre and youth arts more broadly and to lobby for continued and improved support for the work that we do. I look forward to meeting you over the coming months and working with you over the coming years.”
Michelle will begin work at NAYD next Monday, 3rd October. We look forward to welcoming her on board.